Discussion
Hi,
Was thinking of getting the stone chips sorted some time in the near future on my 05 111S, would you get the stone chip protection fitted at the same time? Or just have another respray in 3 or 4 years time? Mine seems to attract chips to the front end and the lower sill area, what sort of price would I be looking at to get them resprayed? Is it the quality of paint that make the cars so easy to chip? My old Civic type R never picked up any, yet a 2000MY impreza was terrible for them.
Cheers
Andy
Was thinking of getting the stone chips sorted some time in the near future on my 05 111S, would you get the stone chip protection fitted at the same time? Or just have another respray in 3 or 4 years time? Mine seems to attract chips to the front end and the lower sill area, what sort of price would I be looking at to get them resprayed? Is it the quality of paint that make the cars so easy to chip? My old Civic type R never picked up any, yet a 2000MY impreza was terrible for them.
Cheers
Andy
the modern water based paints are real bad for chips and some cars are just worse than others.
depending where you are , its probably £500 for a front spray and another few hundred for film.
Whether you prefer the look of film or not is personal, but id have it done after a respray myself - nothing worse than it getting chipped a couple of weeks later. A good job with the film wont be that noticeable and will likely last as long as you own the car.
I didnt have it from new and my black car had white chips all over it within months and a few track days. Had a new clam at as an insurance job a couple of years later, with film, and it always looked great for the next 4 years, you could only see the film if you were real close, and looking for it.
depending where you are , its probably £500 for a front spray and another few hundred for film.
Whether you prefer the look of film or not is personal, but id have it done after a respray myself - nothing worse than it getting chipped a couple of weeks later. A good job with the film wont be that noticeable and will likely last as long as you own the car.
I didnt have it from new and my black car had white chips all over it within months and a few track days. Had a new clam at as an insurance job a couple of years later, with film, and it always looked great for the next 4 years, you could only see the film if you were real close, and looking for it.
The darker a paint finish, the more it shows up imperfections in the gloss.
Paint protection films tend to have a surface texture that is significantly worse than modern factory paint finishes. On lighter colours, the effect is minimal, but on darker ones, it can look awful. It's very rare to see a paint protection film demo car that isn't white or silver. Ask to see a piece of film on a black bonnet before making up your mind!
Oh, and while it's popular to blame waterborne paint for modern chip resistance, it's not responsible. Far more relevant is manufacturer choice of clearcoat, which is still solvent-based (although now lower VOC). With a chip-resistant clear (more expensive, so less popular) it doesn't matter a jot what paint is underneath, it doesn't chip easily.
Tol
Paint protection films tend to have a surface texture that is significantly worse than modern factory paint finishes. On lighter colours, the effect is minimal, but on darker ones, it can look awful. It's very rare to see a paint protection film demo car that isn't white or silver. Ask to see a piece of film on a black bonnet before making up your mind!
Oh, and while it's popular to blame waterborne paint for modern chip resistance, it's not responsible. Far more relevant is manufacturer choice of clearcoat, which is still solvent-based (although now lower VOC). With a chip-resistant clear (more expensive, so less popular) it doesn't matter a jot what paint is underneath, it doesn't chip easily.
Tol
andys_ctr said:
I am thinking of keeping the car for a long time as it is everything I wanted and cant see anything that I would want to replace it with, apart from another lotus! So maybe get the paint done and the plastic film. Any recommendatios in the West Midlands / South West?
For respray i'd try Option1 in Bromsgrove. For Ventureshield I used Covertec in Redditch/Stratford upon Avon. Both recommended but Ventureshield prices seem to vary so 'shop around' and check reputation of installer of film. In my experience product is good but price and installation quality varies. I thought it was fine on my starlight black car - sure, in sunlight it had an orange peel texture to it and of course its never going to look as good as bare paint, but certainly not that bad, and better than a white chipped and peppered front, arches etc after just a few months and a few trackdays 
. The main thing is when polishing/waxing not to use something that leaves white residue, otherwise you can get a build up on the edge, but if youre careful its fine
to the OP - if you are worried about what it will look like, take a look here - these are photos of my 6 yr old, 83K mile Elise (front painted about 3 yrs in) and justabout the whole car is covered in film
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/560135980KLyy...
. The main thing is when polishing/waxing not to use something that leaves white residue, otherwise you can get a build up on the edge, but if youre careful its fineto the OP - if you are worried about what it will look like, take a look here - these are photos of my 6 yr old, 83K mile Elise (front painted about 3 yrs in) and justabout the whole car is covered in film
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/560135980KLyy...
The paint protection film does what it says on the tin ... had it on my black 111R and now on my black Exige S. I'd rather see a slight edge to the film than hundreds of small white chips all over the nose and along the sills ... especially if they appeared a few weeks after a re-spray 
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